Best Brothers
by Little.Misanthrope
Summary: Written for the kink meme. After the opening ceremony of the 2010 winter Olympics, Alfred and Matthew watch a short video from NBC describing their relationship. Lots of fluff.


I wrote this for the kink meme sometime back in February and recently de-anoned over on LJ. This can also be read on my LJ. The video mentioned in this can be found by clicking the Youtube link on my profile.

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Alfred flopped down on the couch, a huge bowl of popcorn in his hands. He had just gotten back to his room from the Opening Ceremony, which had been truly amazing, even with the technical glitch involving the Olympic cauldron. Mistakes happened, but it did suck that it had to happen on his brother's day to shine. Speaking of his brother, the Canadian nation was currently sitting on the couch beside Alfred, sulking.

After the ceremony, Matthew had ran out of the stadium, clearly upset. He didn't even go to watch the cauldron outside being lit. So, like any true hero, Alfred followed the Canadian, determined to cheer him up with some stupid movies and junk food. But first, there was a video that NBC told him about, that would be a summary of the relationship between the United States and Canada. He'd heard that it was a moving video and would be shown before the Opening Ceremony aired in the United States.

"Popcorn?"

Matthew stared at the bowl like it had just insulted him and he shook his head, which only caused his brother to frown. Alfred had made this popcorn for both of them, after all.

"C'mon, Mattie, it's not that bad. Technology glitches sometimes!"

"But why did it have to happen on a day like this?" Matthew knew that his brother was right, surprisingly, but he was still upset. Why did things have to go wrong for him all the time? And his country had worked so hard to make a great ceremony.

Rolling his eyes, Alfred threw a handful of popcorn into his mouth. He got up and grabbed the DVD copy he had been given of the video, putting it into Matthew's DVD player. When he glanced back at his brother, he could see the curiosity on his brother's face, despite the upset pout. Good, he had Matthew's attention. Moving back to the couch, he sat beside Matthew, grinning.

"This little movie's about our countries, apparently. They told me it was a really "moving" video." Alfred made little air quotes when he said 'moving,' doubting that a six minute video could really be all that moving.

Matthew just shrugged his shoulders in response, though he did reach for the popcorn, which was a good sign. Hopefully the blonde wouldn't stay depressed, because it made it hard for Alfred to be cheerful when his brother was down.

But the video was starting, so Alfred turned his attention to the television screen.

The video started out with footage of the Peace Arch on the western border of the two countries. Alfred had always loved the inscription on the arch, because it was truly a wish of his. He would hate to lose the open border between his country and his brother's. The next few shots were of various places that they shared and noticed his brother smile at the cute seal that poked its head out of the water.

Next, the narrator talked about how both countries were large immigrant nations and how they were each other's largest trading partners, before talking about the size of Canada.

"Second biggest, bro."

Alfred grinned when he heard that, before almost choking on his popcorn when he heard what Canada's population was.

"You have less people than California! Damn!"

"Shut up, Al. I want to watch this."

A shiver ran down Alfred's spine as he saw all of the people bundled up against the freezing weather. He hated the cold but his thoughts were distracted once again by a polar bear.

"Is that Kumajirou?"

"No, Al. It's not Kumajirou."

"Oh. Just checking."

Next came clips of famous people from Canada, that many Americans didn't know, or forgot, were Canadian. The next part of the video, though, took a more solemn turn.

Footage of Canadian soldiers preparing for World War II and landing on D-Day were shown, with the narrator saying that Canada was in the war before America.

"And World War I," Matthew muttered, though he knew that World War II had had a greater impact on the minds of people.

Alfred cringed a little when the video mentioned the war in Afghanistan, because he wished that his brother, with his peaceful nature, didn't have to fight in that war. "Thanks for that, Mattie."

The Canadian nation glanced over at his brother and smiled slightly. "Hey, it's fine. You're my brother and family takes care of each other, right?"

With a small nod, Alfred turned back to the TV, a more footage of their past playing on the screen. The Iran hostage crisis… He still appreciated what his brother had done to hide and rescue the escaped diplomats, even if that would have resulted in something awful if they had been found out. But Matthew had helped, despite all of that.

Operation Yellow Ribbon. Alfred felt his chest tighten at that, the events still seeming like yesterday to someone as old as he was. That day, when he had needed help, when he couldn't do anything to help his suffering people, Matthew had taken all of his airplanes and took care of his people, even though he didn't have to.

There was a prickling feeling in his eyes and he rubbed at them, refusing to believe that he was actually getting emotional about a video. But the clip of JFK forced him to turn his head to the side, hiding his watering eyes.

"_Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder. What unites us is far greater than what divides us.__"_

When the video ended, Matthew felt happier than he had when it had started. Sure, he was still upset about the incident at the ceremony, but at least he had Alfred with him and hopefully always would. Glancing over at Alfred, he noticed that the American was looking off to the side. That was odd… Why would he be looking over there?

"Alfred? Are you… crying? You're crying! I can't believe this!" Alfred rarely cried, so this was definitely something interesting.

"Not crying! Something's just in my eye, is all." With that, Alfred rubbed at his eyes, though the random sniffle that escaped him proved his brother right.

"Whoa, hey Al, there's no need for this… Everything's fine."

"It just made me realize that you've always been here and helped me and I don't act like a good brother in return!" Turning to his brother, Alfred threw his arms around Matthew, hugging him tightly and shocking the poor Canadian.

"A-Alfred! That's okay! You're a good brother! Really! So please don't cry?" Matthew gave Alfred a small, awkward hug in return, squished against Alfred's chest. "Even if you forget me sometimes, I still want you as my brother, okay? I'll always be here for you, so stop crying. I don't like seeing you cry…"

Pulling back slightly, Alfred rubbed at his eyes, still refusing to admit that he was indeed crying. And even if he were crying, they would be heroic tears, dammit, because he was such an awesome hero.

Matthew just smiled at his brother and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Alfred's lips. "I love you, Alfred."

Alfred looked surprised at the kiss but he smiled and dried his eyes. "I love you too, Mattie. You're the best brother one could ask for." Pulling Matthew close, he pressed their lips together, knowing that they would always be together.


End file.
